6 kids' tips to keeping our spaces clean PLUS 'A Quest To Save Edmoral Kingdom' parent-child activity book Review + Giveaway

Dear you know who,

You are so inconsiderate. How can you throw rubbish all over the place? Mummy says that's not a nice behaviour and I must agree. It makes the whole neighbourhood so unpleasant. Who wants to go to a place that's full of waste tissue and plastic bags? Got rubbish, throw it into the dustbin! Is that so difficult?

Mummy always tell Didi and me: don't just think about your own convenience. Think about how your action affects others. She always tells us to throw our rubbish into the dustbin and keep our spaces clean, so that everyone can enjoy that space. It can be the neighbourhood where we stay, the park, or a heritage place like Chinatown. 

So keeping our spaces clean is universal, anyone can do this very important job, even kids.

Here are our kids' tips for keeping spaces clean.

- Do not litter, no matter where you are.

- When you are out and about and you have litter, throw it into the nearest garbage bin and not on the floor.

- When you throw rubbish into a garbage bin, make sure all the trash goes into the bin.

- Ask your parents to keep a litter bag in their bags. This way, if there are no garbage bins to be found, your waste can be thrown into the litter bag first, then thrown into a garbage bin once you find one.

- Recycle your rubbish like plastic bottles. This helps the environment too.

- When at the beach or park, don't leave any litter behind. Picking up your trash will make such public places look and feel pleasant. And you might just encourage others to keep the beach and parks clean too.

There! Our six tips for keeping the spaces you love clean. They are simple tips, and can easily involve the rest of the family too.

So care and show respect for your surroundings, be responsible and stop littering. Ok, now you’re a nice person. Mummy says so.

Now, let me tell you about a 'keep clean' adventure I went on, full of simple activities, that parents and kids can do together.

Going on a 'keep clean' adventure

The other day, I saw this really interesting book on mummy's table (everything on mummy's table is interesting). I like the pictures on the front. So cute! So I asked mummy what it is about. She said I received it specially from NEA. What's NEA? National Environment Agency, she said. People there created the book to help all mummies and daddies to teach kids about keeping our spaces clean. It's a story about a frog named Captain Green, who is the protector of the environment in Edmoral Kingdom, who goes on a quest to clean up his kingdom that's come under an evil spell. Eh… quest? Adventure, mummy said. Oh… adventure.

Any princess, I asked mummy.

'Yes! You are the princess'

Hee…. so I joined in the quest too.

The map showing the quest to save Edmoral Kingdom

There are three towns in this quest, and all the people have become less caring, responsible and respectful of their surroundings, because of the evil spell. The key to breaking the spell is to find six hidden petals, by doing the activities in six treasure chests scattered around the three towns. All the activities cover different forms of keeping clean. Most important is Care for ourselves and staying healthy. So the first two activities are about our own cleanliness our own cleanliness, about washing hands and other ways of keeping clean, like keeping fingernails short and clean, not sneezing into the air, and keeping toilets clean.

It's important to know and remember when to our hands.

A Let's Match activity to find the matching stickers.

After that, the quest entered different spaces, such as our room, neighbourhood, and public spaces like the park. It says we must have Respect, to be considerate to others so they can also enjoy the same spaces we go to. Exactly what mummy has been teaching us! It also tells us what litter is, and what will happen if litter is not thrown properly.

Respect for our spaces - it's important to know what our litter can do.

We don't just have to keep our rooms clean, but our neighbourhoods too.

Mummy likes activity tips and suggestions like these.

The final town teaches about Responsibility and tells us all about mosquitoes, their growth, their habitats (a new word mummy just taught me), and the 5 steps we can do to stop mosquitoes from breeding. There's even a little story game called 'Smack Little Mozza', where we have to smack Mozza the mosquito whenever we hear its name.

All about mosquitoes….. Zzzzz….

After visiting the three towns, mummy would give me a sticker to keep me going. I love stickers! Mummy said she likes the tips and suggestions given at the side columns that help parents like her to guide and teach kids like me.

Our verdict

Mummy says this is quite a useful and helpful booklet. It teaches about keeping our spaces clean in a fun way. For me, I know now why mummy always ask me to pour away the water I leave in any little cups during bath time. It is to keep mosquitoes away. I hate them, they always bite me. So next time I play with water, I know what to do.

Mummy said that this book A Quest To Save The Edmoral Kingdom is only given to K1 students in 1604 pre-schools. So nursery kids like me, pre-nursery and K2 kids don't get it. But with the useful tips and suggestions, parents of any kids of any age can use this too.

Present Giveaway Time!

Happy news! Mummy managed to get 5 copies to be given to 5 lucky mummies or daddies reading this. Hooray! Just follow the Rafflecopter instructions below to enter. The more optional steps you do, the more chances you have. Good luck!

Terms and conditions:

- Entries that do not fulfill the requirements stated will be disqualified without notice.

- Giveaways are open to Singapore residents only.

- This giveaway starts on 29 September and ends on 13 October (inclusive) at midnight.

- Winners will be chosen from a random draw of entries received in accordance with these Terms and conditions.

- Winners will be announced on this post and my Facebook page by 20 October.

- Winners will be notified by email, through the email provided in the blog comments.

- The organisers accept no responsibility for entries that are lost, delayed, incomplete or cannot be delivered or entered for any technical or other reason.

- Prize delivery shall be arranged between the winner(s) and the sponsor's representative.

- Entrants into giveaways shall be deemed to have accepted these Terms and Conditions.

- Terms and conditions are subject to change without notice, at the organisers' sole discretion.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Disclaimer: We were provided with a copy of The Quest To Save Edmoral Kingdom by the National Environment Agency for review purposes. No monetary compensation was received. All opinions and images are my own.

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Thank you for reading. If you like this post, please do connect with me on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, so I can share our fun adventures, thoughts and exploits with you. 

Book Box Thursday + Giveaway: 小绵羊生气了 and 奇迹小宝宝初次见面绘本系列 Chinese story books

Following our review of 动物狂欢节 and 从头到脚 Chinese story books, today, I'm reviewing 12 Chinese books! That's right! A whopping 12 books. I can't believe it myself. And it's all possible because 11 of them come in a set. The titles are 小绵羊生气了 and 奇迹小宝宝初次见面绘本系列 (11 books in this series).

小绵羊生气了

Let's start with the single title first. This is about a little sheep Momo who, with his friend Molly, finds a tree full of yummy red apples. While Molly eats any apples she finds, and is being rather flexible about her choice, Momo eyes one single apple hanging from the tree and tries his utmost best to reach out to it. Unfortunately, he fails, and tired from his attempts, falls asleep.

Then when he wakes up, he finds that Molly ate the apple he had been eyeing on. He gets into a huge temper, angry at his friend for eating 'his' apple and turns into a monster sheep.

He throws a tantrum. He goes on a rampage, destroying the chicken shed, frightening the ducks from the pond and bites the cow's tail. He's so furious that his stomping cracks the earth, and he falls into a dark hole. There, he gets some quiet time, and slowly he calms down. His friend then finds him, with another apple for him.

A translated version of the English title Marvin Gets Mad by Joseph Theobald, this title is recommended for kids 3 and above but I say it is perfect for AA. Why? Because Momo sounds just like him! You see, AA can be rather quick tempered, and when he doesn't get what he wants, he throws a tantrum and creates chaos, just like Momo. Perhaps it's because he's still learning to express himself and throwing a ruckus is currently his way of doing so. Or perhaps he knows he's the youngest and he's trying to get away with things. Whatever the reason, when he's in one of his moods, he has to be brought to one quiet corner and one of us adults will help him calm down. We help him manage his anger, slowly teaching him to do so himself.

That's why this book is brilliant in helping me teach AA about controlling his anger when things don't go his way. He's able to see from another perspective how ugly it looks when one gets angry, how ugly MMo looked when he turned into a monster, just like how ugly he is when he gets angry. And it's relevant for EV too. For though she's older and more mature, she still gets into her monster moods at times, and this book too illustrates very clearly how ugly she can be, with monster teeth, monster claws, and monster face.

奇迹小宝宝初次见面绘本系列 (11 books)

Suitable for kids below 3 years old, this series features titles from selected Japanese authors and illustrators. And it clearly shows, because between EV and AA, AA is more intrigued by them.

Featuring simple text and bright colorful illustrations, the titles in this series help little toddlers in their discovery of the world and stretches their imagination. AA's two favourite books are 什么火车来了 and 什么汽车来了, about trains and vehicles, where a bridge and a tunnel 'discover' the type of transportation that use them, based on how they look and how they sound. It's interesting to see that with each new transportation on each page, one only sees part of the vehicle on the left, before the rest of it is revealed in the next page. This adds a sense of mystery, and also keeps the little one in suspense and guessing.

The titles that both AA and EV love are 彭彭脑门儿 and 顶顶鼻子. They are both fun, and shows different animals either touching foreheads or playing nose-to-nose. Besides imitating these actions while reading, it's also possible to talks and discuss about the different animals, like how a baby kangaroo rests in his mum's pouch.

My personal favourites are 蜡笔咕噜咕噜 and 彩色纸哧哧. I like how the titles demonstrate creativity by using crayons and coloured paper, and it shows kids that it's possible to create something out of a few crayon scribbles or pieces of paper. Like how green crayon doodles become grasshoppers and purple circles become grapes. It really shows that creativity has no limits, if only one spends a little more effort to think out of the box.

Nature is also touched upon in the other titles. 小雨嘀嗒嘀嗒 tells the tale of a little girl who goes out when it is raining, and discovers how rain, and her boots, make prints in the water puddles, on the sand and everywhere around her. 小螃蟹 is set by the beach, where crabs witness the rising and setting of the sun by the seaside.

Our verdict

The other three titles that make up this series are equally entertaining and enriching. Just that the ones I've highlighted here are those that we tend to read more often. So overall, we really do enjoy this series of simple books, especially AA, who asks for his favourite every night.

Giveaway!!

Here's a chance to win a $20 voucher from Flip For Joy. Just follow the Rafflecopter instructions below to enter. Most are optional, but do give you more chances. Good luck!

Terms and conditions:

- Entries that do not fulfill the requirements stated will be disqualified without notice.

- Giveaways are open to Singapore residents only.

- This giveaway starts on 25 September and ends on 9 October (inclusive) at midnight.

- Winners will be chosen from a random draw of entries received in accordance with these Terms and conditions. 

- Winners will be announced on this post and my Facebook page by 17 October.

- Winners will be notified by email, through the email provided in the blog comments.

- The organisers accept no responsibility for entries that are lost, delayed, incomplete or cannot be delivered or entered for any technical or other reason.

- Prize delivery shall be arranged between the winner(s) and the sponsor's representative.

- Entrants into giveaways shall be deemed to have accepted these Terms and Conditions.

- Terms and conditions are subject to change without notice, at the organisers' sole discretion.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Disclaimer: We were provided with a copy of 小绵羊生气了and a set of 奇迹小宝宝初次见面绘本系列 (11册) for review purposes, as well as a $20 voucher for giveaway purposes. No monetary compensation was received. All opinions and images are our own.

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Thank you for reading. If you like this post, please do connect with me on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, so I can share our fun adventures, thoughts and exploits with you. 

Giveaway: 4 Brand's Essence of Chicken ‘Listen To My Body’ sets worth more than $60 each

When the going gets tough, make it less rough by listening to your body.

I shared about how I listen to my body in an earlier post. I’ve also realised that previously as a mother-to-be, I was focusing my energies on listening to my baby, rather than listening to my body, and my baby was benefitting from all the good stuff.

Here's my attempt at drawing how I listened to my body, before and after pregnancy.

I hope the sharing has given you inspiration to be good to yourself and to listen to your body.

To get you started, how does a Brand’s Essence of Chicken 'Listen To My Body' set worth more than $60 each sound? There are 4 sets to be given away (worth a total of $250). Just follow the Rafflecopter instructions below to enter. Most are optional, but do give you more chances. Good luck!

Terms and conditions:

- Entries that do not fulfill the requirements stated will be disqualified without notice.

- Giveaways are open to Singapore residents only.

- This giveaway starts on 18 September and ends on 3 October (inclusive) at midnight.

- Winners will be chosen from a random draw of entries received in accordance with these Terms and conditions. 

- Winners will be announced on this post and my Facebook page by 10 October.

- Winners will be notified by email, through the email provided in the blog comments.

- The organisers accept no responsibility for entries that are lost, delayed, incomplete or cannot be delivered or entered for any technical or other reason.

- Prize delivery shall be arranged between the winner(s) and the sponsor's representative.

- Entrants into giveaways shall be deemed to have accepted these Terms and Conditions.

- Terms and conditions are subject to change without notice, at the organisers' sole discretion.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Disclaimer: We were provided with $250 worth of Brand’s Essence of Chicken products for giveaway purposes, and a $100 spa voucher for blog post purpose. No monetary compensation was received. All opinions and images are our own.

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Thank you for reading. If you like this post, please do connect with me on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, so I can share our fun adventures, thoughts and exploits with you. 

Wordless Wednesday: Together…

Linking up with:

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Thank you for reading. If you like this post, please do connect with me on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, so I can share our fun adventures, thoughts and exploits with you. 

When the going gets tough, listening to my body makes it less rough

As a full-time working mum who goes from her first working shift straight to her second mummy shift, I find it easy to feel extremely tired, physically and mentally. My body is exhausted with terribly tight muscles, especially in the upper back and, occasionally, the lower back. This could be due to long hours of working in front of a laptop, and from carrying little AA. This fatigue means that sometimes, I can’t stay awake past 9pm.

In fact, this feeling of extreme tiredness is not limited to full-time working mums. All mums, all dads, in fact, everyone can and will feel this way some time, and we react differently. Some have mild headaches, some have extreme muscle strain, some always feel lethargic and can’t seem to get enough rest, others fall sick easily because the body’s lower immune system becomes weaker..

Unfortunately, many tend to ignore these ‘protests’ by our bodies, due to our busy schedules and commitments. I’m no different. For my family and work, I do ignore my body’s shouts of ‘help’ with the terrible upper back pain that I get every other week or so. I always have some kind of excuse to not deal with it, such as having to finish up the work so that I can rush home to spend time with my little darlings. When I’m suffering from lack of sleep, I’ll get a caffeine boost from my trusty tea (since I hate coffee), and have it black without milk. Anything to get my body and mind going through the day, through the week, even though it gets tougher as time goes by.

I’ve gone for massages to ease my tense muscles, but only when the pain gets too unbearable. I knock out at 9pm because I’m just too tired and my mind has simply surrendered and shut down. It came to a point when I realised I must do more. Rushing from one responsibility to another, like clockwork, is not helping. I must listen to my body and the messages it gives me. So that it can get the needed rest and restoration it deserves.

Why? Because I need to be sensitive to myself. Because if I don’t look after myself, who will?

So, I applied what I’d learnt in yoga, and so far, it has helped me to better listen to my body.

Be open to my body, feel what I feel and trust it

Since it’s my body, it is always reacting to what I do to it, always speaking to me subconsciously. I have to be willing to listen and not deny what I’m feeling. I have to trust my body. If my leg is aching, it is aching, for whatever reason, and I need to do something about it!

Make a conscious effort to slow down

In order to clearly listen to my body, I have to slow down. First thing every morning, I would set aside about 10 minutes or so to do some yoga, focusing on only a few postures and moving slowly from one posture to another. Throughout the day, I also give myself a mental check every few hours. During this time, I would take a short walk, and take a break from the hustle and bustle of work life. And just as easily, I pick up the pace whenever I want.

Relax, breathe deeply and focus

In the mornings, I also spend a few minutes to do deep breathing, and to tune myself to my body, to feel my body’s unique sensations. As I inhale and exhale, I slowly relax my body, consciously releasing the tension and focusing on how each part feels.

Sometimes, I also find other ways to relax, breathe deeply and focus. This means forcing myself to give myself some me-time to do what I like. Besides snuggling up with a good novel, I’ve found that doodling and drawing and just letting my mind flow freely helps tremendously. At the end of it, I feel more refreshed and in tune with who I am, what my body feels.

As you can see, I'm not an artist. But good or bad, it helps me relax.

Be sensitive and listen to my body’s warning systems

Listening to my body means I need to be sensitive to it, to myself. This also means understanding my body’s warning symptoms. If I’m working continuously, not stopping for breaks and not getting enough rest, a light-headed feeling is a warning sign for me. Sometimes, I crave more sugary drinks. This is my body’s trigger, its way of telling me: I really must rest, NOW!

Be good to my body

This means, treat it well with healthy foods. Lots of vegetables and fruits and water. And… exercise, exercise, exercise. My body’s triggers and messages will then be more positive and healthier too.

By being good and more aware of how my body feels, I can ensure that I feel refreshed and rejuvenated most of the time, ready to face the trials and tribulations of daily life with gusto and determination and vibrancy.

The ways that I’ve shared above has helped me a lot in listening to my body. I hope that it will help you too. Or if you have other ways, do share how you listen to your body.

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Thank you for reading. If you like this post, please do connect with me on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, so I can share our fun adventures, thoughts and exploits with you. 

Teaching kids to keep our spaces clean

Just the other day, I witnessed a middle-aged woman getting off a bus, and then very conveniently, threw away a used tissue paper on the grass patch as she walked down the pavement.

I was appalled, to say the least. I mean, what’s wrong with her? Couldn’t’ she see a dustbin nearby? Was she so lazy that she couldnt’t even take a few steps to throw her disgusting tissue? Did she do this all the time? Did she litter in her own home? Whatever was she thinking? That it’s ok to throw your rubbish all over the place?

Yes, as you can see, I get really peeved when I see people throw rubbish all over the place. It just goes to show how inconsiderate they are. They only think of themselves, their own convenience. Their selfish conduct absolutely spares no thought for others around them, and how their actions can affect others, let alone the environment.

To me, being gracious, being considerate, being nice doesn’t just apply to how we behave and communicate with human beings, but also in our actions as we walk past buildings, stroll in the parks, play at the void decks or wait for the bus. Basically, our conduct as we ‘communicate’ with the environment around us. And by conduct, I mean how it is essential to keep our surrounding environment clean, wherever we are, no matter the place.

I’ve always been trying to inculcate in EV and AA, an understanding of the need to keep our surrounding spaces clean. Whenever we walk around the neighbourhood and we spot litter, I would always highlight to EV and AA to observe how the litter makes the neighbourhood extremely unpleasant. I also tell them that the persons responsible are extremely inconsiderate. If it’s not too dangerous, we will pick the litter together and put them into their rightful places. Gradually, I’ve noticed that both kids have become more aware and do understand the importance of keeping the neighbourhood clean.

Recently, I’ve started broadening this ‘keep clean’ habit that I want to inculcate in EV and AA to all places that we visit. Earlier this week, we visited Chinatown. Now, Chinatown has special meaning for me. My daddy has a shop there which opened three months before I was born, and I practically grew up in the area, as I used to frequent the shop quite often. I go down quite rarely now, with family and work and what not, but every time we go, it feels extremely warm to be on familiar grounds.

EV surprised me the moment we stepped out of the train at Chinatown. She said ‘牛车水’, Chinese for Chinatown. It was something totally unexpected and caught me pleasantly by surprise. She asked me what it meant, and I told her a very brief history of how the name came about. She asked me where were ‘cars’ and ‘cows’ and I had tell her that the name was referring to ‘carts’ and ‘buffalos’ instead. Exactly the kind of questions that a modern girl like her would ask.

We walked into the midst of Chinatown, and amongst the crowd of tourists and locals, I pointed out the buildings and the wooden shutters on the second and third levels, and explained how houses used to be in the past. EV was quite intrigued by it, probably wondering why the buildings are so low. We went in search of the entrances of these buildings, which were hidden by the many stalls that target tourists. EV and AA were both curious about the wooden doors, reaching out to touch them, wondering why the doors are smaller than ours at home. As I explained to them about the doors and how people lived in the past, EV and AA also became interested in the tall and steep staircase.

One of our pit stops at Chinatown was the Heritage Centre. It was about to close when we went there, but we got to see some ‘红头巾’ or Samsui women dolls, so I took the opportunity to tell them about these women from the past.

On the way out, both kids noticed a lifesize sculpture of a Samsui women, and that got their focus for a while. They were curious why the woman was squatting down, why she didn’t seem to be wearing any shoes, why she seemed to be closing her eyes. Again, this was another opportunity to tell them about these women, how these women made personal sacrifices and were involved in construction work, how they were living during a time when Singapore was extremely poor, and hence they didn’t have proper covered shoes like we do now. While I was explaining all these, EV looked rather contemplative, as she tried to absorb all that I was telling her.

Walking through Chinatown, I was comforted by the fact that the place was rather spotless and clean. It seemed to me that everyone was extremely conscious and gracious towards their surroundings, keeping it clean and pleasant so that everyone, both local and foreign, can enjoy it.

Of course, we had to be gracious of our surroundings too. We had some used wet tissues that were used to wipe the kids’ hands. Instead of just throwing them on the floor while feigning ignorance, like the lady I mentioned earlier did, we kept the used tissues in our bags and threw them only when we came across a dustbin.

With such actions, I want to show EV and AA that it is important to think about how our actions affect others, and the environment around us. No matter where we are, whether we’re in a well-known place like Chinatown, or just around our own neighbourhood, we have to keep our surrounding spaces clean and not litter. Because it is only through this that we can make our living environment pleasant for ourselves, and for others.

And this is one of many values which I believe will help EV and AA grow up to be gracious and caring individuals.

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Thank you for reading. If you like this post, please do connect with me on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, so I can share our fun adventures, thoughts and exploits with you. 

EV's tips to the Alive Museum

I love it when mummy doesn’t have to work. She plays with us and brings us to different awesome places. That day, I think it was Tuesday, or was it Monday? No, it was Saturday. Well, never mind. It was a no-school day. Mummy told us she was going to bring us out and it was to be surprise! Could it be that indoor playground we saw at the airport the other day? I really want to go. Mummy said it was somewhere else. She only said that it was a museum. Oooo… museums! I like museums and I had so much fun at the other two museums we went recently (Read about those adventures here and here). Hee… so fun!

We headed to this place mummy calls Suntec City, mummy, AuntyCC, Didi and me. Wow! The buildings were very tall. Oh yes, mummy says that place is not very pram-friendly. There are no slopes between basement one and the roundabout eating area. So mummy and AuntyCC had to carry sleeping didi on the pram down and up the stairs. Don’t big people know kids like slopes?

After a yummy lunch of sushi, chawamushi and udon (my favourite!), mummy still refused to tell us where we were going, except that it was on the third floor. Silly mummy got lost because she couldn’t find the lift to go to the third floor, but we finally reached our … erm… des-ti-na-tion. Some museum called Alive Museum. What’s that? I’m not sure it’s even fun. Maybe it’s only fun for big people, because mummy looked so excited. But well… I’ll give it a try. For mummy.

Here are some things little kids like me need to remember before going in.

Go to the toilet before entering

There are no toilets inside, so don’t pee in your pants and make a mess. Very important! And, don’t drink so much water inside. Though sometimes, you know, when kids get thirsty and we need water, we need water NOW!!! But anyway, food and drinks are not allowed, so it would be helpful if mummies and daddies can explain why. Tickets are for one-time entry only, so once you exit, you’ll need another ticket to get in again. So here’s another reason why you should go to the toilet first.

Don’t wear a skirt

I wanted so much to wear a skirt that day and mummy made me change into pants. Hmph… She says one of her blogger friends gave her this advice. She says there’s a mirror, so I cannot wear skirt, otherwise, my underpants can be seen. Hmm… ok. When we went into the room, I understood why. The whole room is full of mirrors. It was very small, and we spent very little time inside as it was crowded. Thank you mummy for asking me to wear pants.

Getting f…f….frozen!

Such a sweet picture of the us!

All hail Didi!

Be adventurous!

Unlike didi, I usually take a while to warm up. So when we first arrived at this Alive Museum, I wasn’t keen to try out anything. Didi, on the other hand, was already climbing into the refrigerator at the entrance. But once I’m warmed up, together with Didi, we had a blast. Sometimes, we went with the suggestions, sometimes we went crazy and creative, other times we just preferred to stand next to the displays.

Push.. push… Didi was more interested in the vehicle.

Amazing! Didi looks like he's being flushed down.

Be considerate

Must remember to make way for others ok? Mummy says that’s being nice. And I think it’s important, especially in the narrow and small spaces. If your parents brought prams, please remember to park it nicely at the side, so it doesn’t obstruct other people. And don’t run and climb around so much, other visitors want to take pictures with the displays too!

Fighting the rapids together.

Row row row our boat.

This took mummy a while to take, because we couldn't stop running all over.

Don’t like some of the exhibits? Tell your parents

Being kids, we generally like everything that’s fun. But there are times when we don’t. So if you don’t want to take photos with any of the exhibits, just tell your parents.

Didi was the brave one here. I refused to step in.

Avoid the Powder Room

Eh… I have no idea what it is. But mummy says I’m too young to watch this exhibit located just opposite the exit, as it has a sign that says PG13. I think it’s something scary.

My hero!!!

Another hero!!

I definitely warmed up and absolutely enjoyed myself. Look at all the pictures I took by myself. Quite brave, aren't I? With my favourite Spiderman and Superman, how can I resist? Even the big croc didn't frighten me. Can we go again soon mummy?

I'm doing the perfect split...

and battling the giant croc!

Alive Museum

Where: Suntec City Mall #03-372 (Between Towers 3 and 4)

Time: 10am – 10pm Daily (Last Admission at 9pm)

Prices: 

Adults: $25

Children 3-12 yrs $20

Current Promotion:

From now until 30 September 2014, get a free Burger King meal (worth S$7.85) when you like Alive Museum on Facebook and purchase a full-priced ticket. The meal includes one Fish'N Crisp or Chick'N Crisp burger, one small fries and one small coke.

Disclaimer: We were provided with four complimentary tickets to the Alive Museum. No compensation was received. All images and opinions are my own.

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Thank you for reading. If you like this post, please do connect with me on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, so I can share our fun adventures, thoughts and exploits with you. 

Just do it! Starting a exercise routine at last.

Since giving birth to AA, my exercise regime has really suffered. Having two kids is so much busier, as day in day out, I go from my first working shift to my second mummy shift. It’s harder to squeeze time for myself. And this means, less exercise. As compared to previously, when I went swimming twice a week, and yoga at least once a week, my exercise regime now is downright measly.

Oh my! What happened?

I procrastinated. I've been trying to find a good yoga teacher or centre that I feel comfortable with. I had to stop with my previous yoga teacher because she moved the session to a different day and time, which clashed with the kids' enrichment class. I've done the occasional sessions, but not enough to say it's a routine. I've even tried a women's gym, but that didn't really click with me. Plus, the nearest swimming pool is rather far and inconvenient to get to. There's a running track around my neighbourhood, but you know, I don't exactly like running. So……

Banish all excuses

Right. All excuses. I was quite lax about exercising, and always used the kids as excuse. While there indeed is less time for myself (I can't even get a minute of peace in the toilet before both kids come and start knocking, continuously), I can’t ignore my own health.

Care for self before kids

I've done a health check recently, and while it's generally ok (phew!) I know that if I don't start taking of myself soon, I might have more health ailments. I feel sluggish, and feel the extra pounds. I told myself, I have to do something about it. I need to get off my butt and get my butt moving. I have to take care of myself so I can take care of my kids.

Just do it!

So last month, together with a group of mummy bloggers, I started on a Fit and Fab routine to get myself back in the pink of health.

I admit. My exercise regime is still nowhere close to where it used to be, but it’s a good start. At least in my opinion. After a long search, I’ve found a yoga place that I’m comfortable with, and have started doing yoga once a week there, at least.

It’s absolutely great to be doing sun salutations, warrior pose, tree pose, boat pose and all sorts of poses again. I love the feeling of the tension in my muscles slowly easing away, with every breathe, with every movement. I love the light feeling that I get after every session. I like how my mind is so much clearer and focused, after anhour or so of deep breathing and concentration.

10 minutes a day keeps the tension away

Every morning, I try to squeeze in 10 to 15 minutes of yoga. I find that it helps me to start the day with a more relaxed mind, and better prepare me for the craziness of the day. I tend to focus on postures that are a little more intense and work more parts of the body, like sun salutations, down dog, plank, boat pose and so on. At the beginning, I could only do plank and boat pose for about twenty seconds. But by gradually increasing my targets, I've been about to hold the poses for a minute or more. 

Run (walk) the blues away

I've also made myself go running. Eh… though it sometimes morphs into brisk walking. Hooray! I figured that, as much as I dislike it, at least it gets me moving. I try to run once or twice a week too, either around the track near my place, or near my mum's neighbourhood when we head over to her place on the weekends.

Call of the pool

As for swimming, I'm still trying to fit that in. DaddySay is so sweet; he tries to bring the kids for swimming so that I can swim too. But dipping in the pool with the kids is so different from swimming laps. 10 laps, 20 laps, as the water splashes over the body and face, it’s literally tension flowing out of every muscle. The sound of the splashing water also helps tremendously to calm the mind. Yes, from that, you can tell I’m a ‘water baby’, as DaddySay likes to call me. He, on the other hand, hates the water, and only goes in when he absolutely has to.

I’m only at the beginning of my journey to being and feeling fit and fab. So far, so good. It’s really comforting to have these fellow mummies around as support, as we cheer each other on via Instagram. Knowing I’m not the only mummy facing the ‘get fit’ challenge definitely counts a lot in pushing myself to persevere and persist on this journey. Thanks ladies!

Next up, I have Angelia from GrowingHearts123 to share her exercise journey.

At GrowingHearts, this mum shares her passion for holistic teaching especially through the Visual Arts to her children of 3. She used to run after kids and count that as exercise. Now she runs while the kids play and is striving to join her hubby in future runs.

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